Winning hearts and minds: how to embed UX from scratch in a large organisation

Winning hearts andminds: how to embedUX from scratch in a large organisation Michele Ide-Smith UX Cambridge, November 2011

“As their usability approach matures,organisations typically progressthrough the same sequence of stages,from initial hostility to widespreadreliance on user research.” Jakob Nielsen

A bit of backgroundPhoto by Kaptain Kobold http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/5359290323

About me Head of Information Interactive Architecture Production Started MSc in Web HCI Web developer accessibility UX Specialist1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Web Strategy Project Manager & Manager Information Architect Observed user testing Graduated with MSc in HCI

A revelation can become a passion

The organisation I worked for had tosave £160 million in the next 5 years

Costs per transaction• Face-to-face £8.23• Telephone £3.21• Website £0.39Source: SOCITM (Society for IT Managers), 2009

Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989)

Making Council web services useful and usable saves public money

We came a long way in 5 years…2006 2011Occasional usability Dedicated UX Architectsurvey UX techniques and skills embedded

UX Maturity Model diagram from an article by @rfeijo http://johnnyholland.org/2010/04/16/planning-your-ux-strategy/ We got to here

How did we get started?Photo by Sarah and Mike …probably http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahandmikeprobably/4266668689/

UX techniques are not hard to pick up

But knowing when and why to use them takes experience

Lesson learnt #1

Start with small butperfectly formed projects Research Improve Design Evaluate Prototype

Demonstrate the value of using UXmethods, however small the project

Lesson learnt #2

Some stakeholders have strong opinions

Data can speak volumes

Use data to tell a story about your users User testing / interviews Customer feedback Call centre stats Analytics

Lesson learnt #3

Highlighting poor design and content requires tact and diplomacy

Always point out something positive as well as the negatives Use familiar language e.g. ‘customer focus’, ‘customer experience’Photo by hatalmas http://www.flickr.com/photos/hatalmas/6094281702

Lesson learnt #4

Find a UX Champion who can gain organisational support and resources UX rocks!!Photo by Dunechaser http://www.flickr.com/photos/dunechaser/3538429942/

Lesson learnt #5

If you have budget available anddecide to use external expertise

Find a supplier who’ll work collaboratively Work collaboratively And help transfer skills to in-house teamsPhoto by Lollyman: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lollyman/4424552903

Lesson learnt #6

The whole team can learn UX skills

Everyone in the team could use Analytics data or do an expert reviewPhoto by Oblong http://www.flickr.com/photos/oblongpictures/5250948891

Anyone can have design ideas

The person who created thesesketches had no prior UX experience

Developers appreciate design input when it makes their lives easier

Lesson learnt #7

Regular user testing is an invaluable way to get early feedback on designsPhoto by Kaptain Kobold http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/5181464194

Recruiting users can be time consuming and expensive

Maximise opportunities to recruit users e.g. add a check box oncustomer surveys / feedback forms, or a question to the call centre scripts

Lesson learnt #8

It’s your job to sell the value of UX

Set targets and evaluate andbenchmark using consistent metrics

Lesson learnt #9

UX people should influence all areas ofthe business that impact on customers

Procurement decisions are often onlybased on cost and business requirements

Bad UX costs the business through increased calls to customer supportPhoto by ntr23 http://www.flickr.com/photos/ntr23/4435476085

Integrate usability evaluations andaccessibility audits into procurement

Speak to customer support tounderstand customer problems

Lesson learnt #10

Standardising processes and templatessaves time and helps with a UX roll out

We integrated UX processes into Agile (Scrum) processes

Creating method cards helped develop UX knowledge and summarise when and how to use UX techniques

Method cards courtesy of http://nform.com/tradingcards/

Leave room to experiment with newtechniques – don’t be too prescriptive

Lesson learnt #11

UX can become a full time job

It’s often only a small percentage of your job role

After 4 years we created adedicated UX Architect role

Developing UX skills, retaining talent and recruiting is hard work

Lesson learnt #12

Do you know who your users are?Photo by Joe Shablotnik http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/305410323/

Work with data experts¹ to segment customers and help create personas,to enable everyone in the organisation to know their users1. Data experts could be market researchers or data analysts

Use personas to bring your user data to lifePhoto by Canned Tuna http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannedtuna/4852756417/

We created personas with quantitativedata (demographic and transactional) as well as qualitative data

Personas inform service design, notjust website and application design

UX was being considered at each point in a customer journey

A team which collaborates and learns together can achieve great things Photo by Rob Young http://www.flickr.com/photos/rob-young/2835825416

UX adoption / maturity survey• Based on Human Factors International checklist (developed after 2009 survey)• 65 respondents, sourced from UX networks and groups (London IA, LinkedIn, Twitter)

Sectors

Organisation size

46% Have executive support 30%At senior executive level (V or C level)

8%Have UX governance

24% strategy Have a published UX or vision statement 13% 19%Review or update State that UX is an it regularly organisational success driver

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http://us-w1.rockmelt.com	10
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Winning hearts and minds: how to embed UX from scratch in a large organisation

by Michele Ide-Smith

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